For the first time under Bruiser Flint, UMass is ahead of
the game on prep commitments, as opposed to previous
years when some last-minute scrambling was needed
just to fill spots with junior college players (Anthony
Oates, JoVann Johnson) who often didn't pan out.

So you have to ask the question: What's going on here?
Why suddenly all the good news, and is the news really
as good as it seems?

The answer depends on your view of verbal
commitments from teen-age kids. Never forget this:
Verbal promises have no legal binding power
whatsoever.

But given that Flint's staff has been criticized for not
locking up quality early recruits in the past, they deserve
credit for doing so now. Besides, Basden and King
sound pretty sure of themselves.

Beyond unofficially adding two good players to the fold,
though, the Basden and King pledges also point out two
other interesting developments in the world of
Minuteman recruiting. One is UMass is evidently not as
reliant on departed assistant coach Tony Barbee as it
once seemed.

The other is there was apparently some basis to Flint's
occasional lament that the Marcus Camby mess crippled
his early recruiting efforts. His critics have treated this as
sour grapes, but the more Camby fades into the past, the
better Flint and associate coach Geoff Arnold have been
doing, with or without Barbee.

Flint and Arnold have always worked hard at recruiting,
but for years, they always seemed to wind up on players'
short lists, only to be unable to bring home the prize.

Now, they seem to be winning those battles even though
the prevailing theory is if Flint's team doesn't reach the
2001 NCAA tournament, he may not get a chance to
serve the final year of his contract in 2001-02.

If he looks to be in trouble this season, and Basden
and/or King have yet to sign their letters of intent, they
could change their minds and go somewhere else. That
would put UMass recruiting back at square one, and it's
not farfetched because Basden and King say they're
basing the decisions largely on their comfort levels with
Flint and the staff.

Worrying about that now seems like pretty negative
thinking, though, given the success of the summer
recruiting season. Of course, Flint has also adjusted his
recruiting standards just a bit, as coaches sometimes do
when the guillotine is swinging from above.

Basden is not sure to be eligible as a freshman, and King
will be attending his third high school this fall. But taking
a chance on an academic risk can have its rewards —
remember Tyrone Weeks? — and besides, this
recruiting approach makes UMass no different than
anyone else, unless it's Duke or Stanford you're talking
about.

What will be interesting will be the administrative
reaction if UMass starts slowly this year. Flint was
granted another year partly on the strength of his
incoming recruits. It remains to be seen if the insurance
policy of recruits for 2001-02 will grant him more any
elbow room this year.

But for now, the verbal commitments of Basden and
King suggest a bright UMass basketball future. Now all
Flint must do is win this year so that the future, which he
is crafting so carefully, also includes him.